


Pick You Up

by fictionalcandie



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-14
Updated: 2010-03-14
Packaged: 2017-11-06 17:02:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/421235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fictionalcandie/pseuds/fictionalcandie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>People often make passes at Sirius in front of James.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pick You Up

It isn’t that it’s unusual for someone to approach their group while they’re out and ask Sirius if they can buy him a drink or dance with him or — on one memorable occasion — even blow him in a back room, because it really isn’t. It isn’t even unusual for whatever girl, or even sometimes _guy_ , doing the asking to assume that James is somehow Sirius’s keeper and needs to be asked for his permission. It happens a lot, actually; Lily and Mary are always amused, Remus thinks it’s a perfect opportunity to make sarcastic comments, and James, well, he’s used to it by now.

 _That_ ’s not what makes this time different.

The universe’s sacrificial hopeful for the night, a skinny boy with absurdly long legs and a terrifyingly tight shirt, sidles up to their table boldly, the way the bravest do when they’ve already decided that James is a pushover. The boy leans in, smiling, and rests a hand on Sirius’s arm even before he says anything.

“Hello,” he practically purrs — _What the hell?_ James thinks, _What kind of guy_ purrs _?_ — and does a remarkable job of pretending he can’t hear Lily and Mary giggling into Remus’s shoulders on the other side of the table. “I’m Liam.”

“Sirius,” replies Sirius, like he always does, and grins.

The boy’s eyes slide past Sirius to rest on James briefly. “Anything as pretty as you should be out on the dance floor, not hiding in a dark corner like this. Your date won’t mind if I steal you away for awhile, right?”

No, not unusual at all. Normal order of the universe. Happens all the time.

Except that Sirius breaks from the script, not looking over at James and rolling his eyes like always, but _laughing up at the boy_ and saying, “No, he won’t, not at all.”

The giggling from the girls just _stops_.

“Wait. _What_?” blurts James a moment later, but by then, Sirius has already been pulled up and away from the table. James gapes in the direction he’s disappeared, jaw hanging open.

Eventually, he collects himself enough to turn back to the table.

Lily, Mary and Remus are staring at him.

James clears his throat. “It’s, er, been awfully rainy lately. Hasn’t it?” he stammers.

“Oh, honestly, Potter,” mutters Lily. James ignores her.

“Yeah,” Remus says slowly. “Very rainy.”

“Right.” James nods, and starts a long night of pretending that the chair on his left isn’t full of nothing but air.

They don’t talk about it. At all.

( _When Sirius comes back to the table, flushed and sweaty, he leans over for James’s new drink and drains it, fast, just three long swallows. He coughs a little, drops the glass too quickly._

_“If you vomit, aim away from me,” says James._

_“Who drinks vodka straight up, fucking hell,” sputters Sirius, wiping his eyes._ )

From then on, though, the script seems to have been rewritten, permanently, because Sirius just keeps letting himself get picked up by guys, with increasingly irritating lines and ever more effusive enthusiasm.

( _“If that one were any more eager, he’d be humping Sirius’s leg,” Lily pronounces, a month after the first time, watching Sirius walk away with a short, pretty little guy actually hanging off his arm._

 _“It’s disgusting,” snaps James, trying hard to keep his eyes on his drink, his hands, anywhere that isn’t Sirius. He catches Lily and Mary exchanging glances, and can’t stop himself mumbling “You’d think he’d have more self-respect.”_ )

James sort of feels like he might be losing his mind. ( _Remus finds him one morning after, passed out on Lily’s couch, more hungover than the time they had celebrated finally being out of school and James tried to match shots with both Remus and Peter at once._

_“You know you don’t actually need Sirius with you to go home at night, right?” he asks, frowning, like he thinks James really doesn’t._

_James has no idea what to say to that. He pulls Lily’s grandmother’s afghan back over his head._ ) It’s not a feeling he’s used to, and one he likes even less.

It’s not a surprise, therefore, that James eventually breaks, two months later.

The _how_ , though, is probably not what their friends were expecting.

They’re not at a club, and they’re not even drinking; James and Sirius meet Lily, Mary and Remus at the Leaky Cauldron for a late dinner, which the girls spend most of telling them about the shopping trip they dragged Remus on. They’re just starting on their pudding when a blonde with a megawatt smile stops next to the booth and turns his teeth on Sirius.

“Well. Hello there,” says Sirius, grinning and already a few inches further away from James.

James makes an involuntary noise that draws startled looks from the others, but Sirius doesn’t seem to notice.

“I was wondering if I could buy you a drink?” the blonde asks, wrapping his hand around Sirius’s elbow like he’s absolutely _sure_ of the response. Then, with the usual aborted glance at James, “Your boyfriend wouldn’t mind, would he?”

Starting to slide from the booth, Sirius opens his mouth, no doubt ready to repeat the usual lie.

James catches his elbow and yanks him back hard.

“Actually, _yes_ ,” he snaps at the startled blonde, “His boyfriend _does_ mind.”

Sirius jumps a little.

“Oh,” sputters the blonde, staring. “I—”

“Get your damn hand off him before I break your fingers,” James interrupts, narrowing his eyes threateningly.

With a squeak, the blonde lets go of Sirius’s elbow and takes a couple of very large steps back. “S-sorry,” he manages to stutter, before turning and all but _fleeing_.

James ignores the others —

( _“Whoa,” murmurs Mary._

_“James knows he’s not the werewolf at this table, right?” Lily asks._

_Remus just looks at James like he’s never seen him before._ )

— in favour of watching Sirius adjust his worldview. There isn’t actually all that much to see, if you’re anyone but James, just little flickers of realization going through his eyes.

“Um,” starts Sirius, when his expression has settled and James hasn’t said anything for several moments. “For the record, if you hit me with your club or try to drag me anywhere by my hair, I’ll have to hex you.”

James tightens his hold on Sirius’s arm. “Stop letting losers pick you up, then.”

“Nobody else ever tries,” Sirius counters, raising his eyebrows challengingly.

For a minute, James stares at him. Across the booth, Remus clears his throat uncomfortably, and Lily hisses “ _For Christ’s sake, Potter_.”

“Sirius,” James finally says, very deliberately, “I’d like to buy you a drink.”

Sirius’s breaks into a very, very wide grin. “Yeah?”

James nods. “Or maybe I could just take you home.”

“Oh my god,” Mary mutters, while Sirius beams. “That took you bloody long enough.”

**Author's Note:**

> This work can also be found [here on LJ](http://gailsauce.livejournal.com/64937.html) and [here on DW](http://gailsauce.dreamwidth.org/64374.html).


End file.
